Currently our walls from Kindergarten classrooms to in-classroom toilets are scheduled for an STC rating of 50, but will probably meet 52 with our specified foamed-in-place insulation in 8" CMU. The doors to the in-classroom toilet rooms will be gasketed. The standard says classroom to toilet rooms must be 53, but I'm not sure how else to accomplish this without changing the design and wall construction. I understand the noise if were a gang toilet, but these are single user toilets for kindergarten students, so I wouldn't think the sound transimission would be that large of an issue. Any thoughts?
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Rebecca Griffith
65 thumbs up
June 7, 2011 - 12:09 pm
I forgot to mention, this project is under LEED for Schools 2007. I posted it here, because there was no place to post about STC ratings under the previous versions. I found the exact exception to my question in ANSI/ASA S12.60-2010. However, since this project is under LEED for Schools 2007, ANSI/ASAS12.60-2002 is referenced in the Reference Guide. Can we apply newer versions of the standard to old rating systems? This may be a question for another forum.
Daniel Hicks
Daniel Hicks, E.I., INCEGeiler & Associates
267 thumbs up
June 7, 2011 - 12:29 pm
There are two ways you might go about this.
The first is with the rating of the assembly. I would almost expect your assembly to rate an STC 53 as you are describing it as long as the block is 35lbs/block or higher. With the cores filled with loose mineral insulation, I would rate the assembly approximately STC 52. With it being foamed in place you will most likely get more fill in the cores which means a higher density assembly and higher rating...probably closer to STC 53. If the blocks are 45lbs/block or higher, you definitely have an STC 53 assembly, so that might be a quick way to solve the problem by specifying slightly heavier block in that area.
The other way would be to reference the updated ANSI standard. I don't know if that is exactly "allowed" (check other forums if you can) but it would definitely hold more weight than just trying to make the "STC 52 should be enough because..." argument on your own without backup. A LEED reviewer would most likely hold fast to an "STC 53 means STC 53" point of view if there were no official basis for an exception, like the updated ANSI standard.
Hope this helps.
aaron smith
Founder and PresidentASSA ABLOY
30 thumbs up
June 7, 2011 - 5:50 pm
It is possible to get an STC rated door assembly (door, frame, hardware and gasketing) rated to a 53 or the door assembly can be rated as part of the entire partition. One thing to look at with high STC door solutions, is that you may want to provide an automatic operator in a K12 environment, as the sound gasketing and weight of the door makes it a challenge for children to operate.